Ring expander



F. HYDE RING EXPANDER Feb. 17, 1942.

Filed Oct. 9, 1940 @mma 8 664 R. 1111111 1 HM 6 3 W H w m m Patented Feb. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RINGv EXPANDER Francis Hyde, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

Application October 9, 1940, Serial No. 360,510

4 Claims.

This invention relates to ring expanders and more particularly a device of this type employed for expanding finger rings so as to vary the size thereof as may be desired or required.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a device of this type wherein the degree of the ring expansion may be easily, quickly and accurately determined to assure the required diameter or size to be had.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of this type which is of simple and economical construction and which comprises a minimum of parts compactly assembled and susceptible of easy and quick manipulation.

Still further the invention aims to provide an expander which has provisions for enabling same to be either completely manually operated by holding same in bothhands of the operator or which can be held in a vise so that both hands of the operator are left free in manipulation of the device.

The invention has still further and other objects which will be later set forth and of them selves manifested in the following description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the parts with the ring in the act of being expanded; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The invention primarily consists of but two elements; namely, a member I, which has an elongated part 2, at one end thereof, provided with flattened sides, so that same may be either gripped in a vise or held in one hand of the user and used as a handle in expansion of the ring, as now to be described.

The member I has its inner portion formed with a tapered bore, and is provided with spaced longitudinal slits as indicated at 3, to provide a series of independently movable arms 3', which latter are exteriorly tapered and receive thereover the ring R, to be expanded.

The other element 4 consists of a mandrel which is provided with a suitable handle 5, at its outer end. The mandrel is externally tapered to conform to that of the bore of the member I, and has graduations or markings M thereon spaced at predetermined intervals to indicate various sizes or diameters of rings.

The mandrel also has a shank 6, threaded at its outer end as indicated at 1, the threaded portion being threadedly received in a socket 8 provided therefor in the outer end of member I. i

-In operation, the two parts or members are separated and the ring R, then disposed over the fingers 3. The mandrel is then replaced and rotated relative to the member I, and upon rotation thereof progressively expands the fingers and therewith the ring. Preferably the graduations and the inner ends of the fingers are so located with respect to each other and also with relation to the tapers of the various parts above described, so that the extent to which the ring is expanded will be indicated on the graduations of the mandrel, until the desired size of the ring which is to be expanded is indicated by the graduations upon the latter coinciding with the inner ends of the fingers.

Optionally, however, the ring can be expanded and upon sufiicient release from the fingers to enable sliding thereof, can be slid or moved off of the fingers and onto the mandrel and its size then read on the graduations. Obviously, if insufiic'iently expanded the ring must then be restored to the fingers and further expanded, until the desired size of the ring is had.

The invention thus provides for easy and quick expansion of the ring, and expansion readily ascertained until the desired size or diameter of the ring is had.

It will be understood that the'invention is susceptible ,to such changes, alterations, and modifications as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A ring expander including an expansible member formed to receive the ring to be expanded thereover, and means to expand the member threadedly connected to the latter and having graduations thereon extending beyond the member to indicate the size to which the ring is to be expanded, the expanding means having a part coopera'ble with the graduations to progressively indicate the expansion of the ring without removing the ring from the expansible member, means connected to the expansible member to rotate same, and means connected to the expanding means to rotate same, whereby to provide for actuation of the expansible member or of the expanding means by movement of either or both of said operating means.

2. A ring expander including a member having gripping means and having a threaded socket, a series of elongated arms integral at one end with the member and extending outwardly therefrom and arranged in a hollow annular formation. said arms having their peripheries and their inner faces reversely tapered, a mandrel externally tapered downwardly and inwardly from its outer end toward its inner end and having its inner end receivable in the tapered bore formed by the arms, a screw threaded shank fixedly connected to the inner end of the mandrel and received in the threaded socket, said gripping means of the member being formed so that same may be used as a handle or held in a vise or the like, and means carried by the mandrel adjacent its outer end, whereby said last named means may be manually gripped to effect relative rotation between the mandrel and member so as to cause the screw threaded shank to axially move in its socket and simultaneously move the mandrel lengthwise of the arms.

3. A ring expander in accordance with claim 2, wherein the mandrel has graduations-that are predeterminately positioned with respect to the inner ends of the fingers whereby the inner ends of the fingers indicate on the graduations the size to which the ring has been expanded without removal of the ring from the fingers.

4. A ring expander including a member having a tapered bore and a tapered periphery over which latter the ring to be expanded is received, said member having spaced longitudinal slits and having means at its outer end whereby same may be gripped and held against turning, a mandrel exteriorly tapered and having its inner end receivable in the bore of said member and having a screw threaded portion fixedly connected thereto and received in a socket provided therefor in the member whereby upon relative rotation between the mandrel and member the screw threaded portion will simultaneously move the mandrel; means to rotate the mandrel, and graduations on the periphery of the mandrel predeterminately positioned with respect to the inner ends of the fingers whereby the inner ends of the fingers indicate on the graduations the size to which the ring has been expanded without removal of the ring from the fingers.

FRANCIS HYDE. 

